On Your Doorstep
by Gasian Gaond
Summary: An expedition gone awry leaves Samantha Nishimura separated from her crewmates and stranded on an island in the ferocious Dragon's Triangle. Painfully alone, injured, and afraid, she is soon captured by some strange, gruff men who roughly drag her to the feet of their leader: a young woman with fiery eyes and a stare so sharp that Sam can feel it stabbing her whole body. AU
1. Chapter 1

**On Your Doorstep**

A/N: Hello everyone, this is my first Tomb Raider fanfic. Some notice before you continue:

- This fic is dedicated to all of you of the S.S. Endurance fandom. It will contain Lara x Sam pairing.

- Trying my hand at writing Sam and Lara if they have never met before. I always think that their relationship is very important to their life even before Yamatai, so I hope I can show that without straying away too much from the source material. Writing this is lots of fun by the way!

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 1**

Sheets of water continue to pour down from the thunderous skies as her grip tightens on the rusted metal bar, sending an unfamiliar jolt of pain to her nerves through the cuts on her petite hand.

She doesn't even have time to register what just happened.

It is like the earth suddenly decided to lash them with all of its violent, intense rage.

As if they're the ones that caused it.

As if they have done something completely despicable, disgustingly unforgivable.

As if it wants them all _dead_.

One avalanche of water later and the sky is already painted black. The rain and waves mix together in such a furious dance that she can't tell which of them is carrying her away in an unmerciful tide, throwing her body around like a rag doll.

As she struggles to break loose from the wrathful claws of the ocean and her brain screams frightfully for oxygen, dark thoughts pass through her panicked mind.

Thoughts that have been haunting her since the day she could understand.

_Nobody in this world loves me._

A desperate cry.

_Not even the world itself does._

A severe pain on her arm.

"_You're a disgrace to the family, Samantha."_

A look of horror as her grip loosens and her consciousness slips away.

"_You deserve to die."_

* * *

Ever since she can remember, Sam has always loved following her grandmother around. She would let Sam sit on her lap and tell her countless stories about the warriors of the past, the rise of legendary emperors, and the mystical kingdom of their ancestor, the Sun Queen Himiko.

The lost kingdom of Yamatai has always been a controversial topic among Japanese archaeologists, but it's only recently that Sam found out that it is real. When her uncle called her with an offer to document a voyage to locate Yamatai with a bunch of boring archaeologists, Sam agreed without second thoughts. She can never stand her dull, ordinary life, which is why she is more than happy to film random things anywhere her uncle wants her to, from the frozen Arctic to the scorching Red Desert.

For this certain expedition, though, her uncle gave her a warning, something he had never done before.

"That place is bad news. I had a friend who also used my money to find Yamatai," he said in a disinterested tone, "He last contacted me to tell that he's heading into Ma-no Umi, the Sea of the Devil. Never heard again from him since then. So tell me if you find Conrad Roth's body dangling from a tree or something."

Her uncle's words made her uneasy, but never in a million years would she have thought that _she_ would be the one dangling from a tree.

She opens her eyes to the painful realization that her body is covered in cuts and bruises. She quickly notices the large gash on her right arm, which is obviously where a jagged piece of wood plunged into her flesh and almost drowned her the night before.

She throws back her head and forces the rest of her senses to work properly again. Faint sunlight shines on her from between the foliage, and she becomes aware of the sound of the roaring waves a short distance away. Tiny droplets of water fall to her face and drip down to her short black hair. She turns to see a glimpse of wet, rocky ground beneath the tree. She must be stranded on an island somewhere inside the Dragon's Triangle.

'Great…' she thinks, trying to sit upright, 'I'm still alive…'

She smiles bitterly when she remembers her grandmother's story that Queen Himiko was able to control storms.

"And then her descendant is the worst rain woman in the world," she says, "Oh God, I swear, I haven't even spent ten seconds on the deck when…"

Her leg slips and she feels her heart jumps out of her chest as her body hits the ground with a loud, horrible thump. She let out a piercing cry; the fall burned every sensitive wound on her body and smeared her soaked designer clothes with dirt and mud. Her first instinct amidst her unstable senses is to recheck the damages on her body. No massive bleeding, a good sign… but her carelessness has rewarded her with an extra broken finger.

"Fuck, enough of this," she cries out weakly, "Hello? ! Is anyone here? !"

Her shouts echo pathetically in the woods behind her and the menacing rustles from the undergrowth is the only reply she gets.

"Dr. Josef? !" she tries again as loud as she can, "Olivia? ! Jeff? !"

It doesn't take her long to know that her efforts are meaningless, but the silence that greets her is so uncomfortable that she desperately tries to overwhelm it with her voice.

She is alone, all alone…

Wiping tears and blood from her face, she manages to stand up without tripping on her own wobbly foot and asks herself, 'Now what…?'

In this state there's no way she can carry things easily, let alone look for food. If she doesn't take care of herself, she'll soon die of thirst and hunger.

Never in her life has she felt all alone in the world.

And that is saying something, because for almost her whole life, she has always been by herself. It has always been only her and her cameras.

She has had friends who never understand her, a family who are never there for her, boyfriends whom she dated for ridiculous, trivial reasons... but never someone she truly cares about, or someone who loves her, Samantha Nishimura, for herself, without her riches or her looks or her social status…

And here she is, alone, waiting to die on an uninhabited island without ever having the chance to meet that person…

'I have to move…' she fiercely tells herself, 'I can't die here…not yet…'

It takes all her willpower to move her feet and scramble toward the beach, fighting the horrors in her mind of how painful it will be if the sea water touches her wounds.

The sight that welcomes her is beautifully eerie: hundreds and hundreds of wrecked boats and ghastly remains of gigantic ships, some of them cleanly cut in half and the others brutally mutilated by the gale, littering the whole length of the seacoast, but she can find no signs of humans, neither dead nor alive.

As she walks further along the beach, she immediately realizes how odd this situation is.

Surely with a storm that powerful…there should be at least one boat laden with corpses, right…?

Do animals on this island _eat_ bones?

Even if they do, are they really that thorough?

She can't even find body parts.

…Or is someone scavenging the bodies…?

…Do they clean up the beach regularly, attempting to survive with any little thing they can find…?

She stops dead on her tracks.

_Is this island really uninhabited…?_

She observes around her closely and notices some distinct tracks on the sand.

The sudden awareness engulfs her like the relentless storm she encountered the night before when she realizes they are not animal tracks.

They are footprints.

_Are they my crewmates? Are they someone else who got stranded before me? Are they near? Are they friendly? Will they help me? Will they _kill_ me?_

A barrage of questions goes through her mind before she thinks about how vulnerable she must look.

A young girl in her twenties, all by herself, drained of energy, injured, and hungry… even a weak animal would gladly attack her right now.

Should she search for help from these people? Or should she run away?

The pang that is caused by the sweat that trickles down the gash on her arm directly brings her to a decision.

She has to go to these people and get her hands on some painkillers or antibiotics she can dose herself up with, and hopefully some food and water. At worst, she can try stealing. However, if the way the cops easily saw through her sweet smile is any indication, she can't talk her way out of anything to save her life.

"Oh, God…" she says, injecting a bit of courage in her voice, "If I can survive this and get back to civilization I'll wear drab clothing for the rest of my life."

She gulps and follows the footprints off the beach toward a small cliff. There are more debris here, the kinds that Sam never expected to see, like a worn-out jeep, a tank with a rusty gun, a partially corroded battleship, and old bunkers.

Are there soldiers in this island…?

That's good news, right…?

Soldiers won't hurt a civilian like her, right…?

While she's making an effort to get rid of her discomforting thoughts that keep warning her that this is totally not a good idea, she finally hears it.

A human's voice.

"You know what, this job's going to take me till doomsday."

"In case you haven't noticed, we're in hell already, so stop being all doomy and enjoy it."

The voice is barely perceptible but it's there. They even speak English! Sam is so happy that she rushes to them, forgetting about her wobbly foot.

She sighs in relief when she sees the two men, tired-looking but every bit as human as Sam. They are examining the scraps of something that resembles an armored vehicle, armed with nothing but harmless minuscule tools.

"Hey!" she shouts when she's close enough, "Hey, you guys! What are you…"

Half a second later she finds her body on the ground with a new bruise on her temple and an unbearable pain on her arm.

One of the guys is pinning her arm with his foot.

Sam bites her tongue. She can feel blood trickling down her nose.

"Who are you! ?" the guy spits. "Did you also come with that blasted new ship! ?"

"What ship! ?" Sam cries back, watching that bearded face contorts with anger, "What's that for! ? I'm not an enemy!"

She's probably supposed to plead for her life, but she's as angry as him because she doesn't know what the hell is going on in this island and her mouth works faster than her brain and she just fucking hates herself so much.

The man raises his arm. "You fucking liar!"

As Sam prepares herself for a beating, the other guy stops him and says, "Wait, don't kill her!"

"What's with you! ? Her friend killed our brother! I'll make them pay!" he bellows, kicking Sam hard on the chest. She coughs, hoping with all her might none of her ribs are cracked.

"No, you can't!" the other guy cries out, almost strangling him, "Our men are up there!"

"Let go of me!"

"You know we'll be in trouble if we kill this girl!"

"Like I fucking care!"

"SHE'LL know!" The other guy loses his patience and yells directly to his brother's ear, "She'll _kill_ us if you do that! SHE'LL _KILL_ BOTH OF US! !"

It is clear how those words affect Sam's aggressor.

He backs off, eyes widening with fear, but still full of anger.

His bald brother quickly shifts toward Sam's position and coerces her to sit. She coughs again, feeling her leather jacket slipping and her wrists being tied so tight with a cable that she probably loses most of the blood flow to her hands.

"Stand up," the man behind her says, "Don't even think of running. This place is being watched. We can catch you easily."

"She won't kill her, will she?" the bearded guy asks, shooting a cruel glance at Sam.

"Not by her own hands, no," his brother replies, "Did you see her throw that loser Asian guy to The Pit?"

"Fuck, that was nasty," he laughs, pushing Sam's shoulder forward, "He was annoying, pathetic. If Mathias were around he wouldn't even last two seconds."

Sam tries to concentrate amid the pain.

These guys….they are talking about murder, aren't they? They are talking about it so casually, like it is an everyday occurrence to them. They don't look like soldiers, either. Who are they?

They grab both of her arms and begin to walk, dragging her uncaringly along the way. They smell like oil.

"Who're you guys?" Sam asks, feeling her shoes scratching the rough soil, "Where are we going?"

"Shut your mouth," one of them answers, "I hope she'll kill you."

"Fat chance," the other says in a resentful tone, "She keeps the others alive, no way she's going to kill this one."

"She said they're useless," he let out a brief cackle, "Just a matter of time before she throws them into The Pit."

As they drag her up the hill, Sam tries to absorb as much information as she can.

_She_.

They keep mentioning this woman with traces of anxiety, respect, and fearfulness in their voice…so she is probably their boss…?

She starts to see more men when they go further up. Most of them only give her a quick glance before sneering or sighing. A lot of them carry guns and machetes, which make Sam shudder. They are all wearing extremely dirty and worn clothing, as if they haven't changed for days.

She hears a wolf whistle and stops staring at them, focusing on the scenery instead.

It is truly stunning and bizarre how the wreckages and ugly bunkers are slowly replaced by ruined wooden houses with thatched roofs, ancient shrines, and majestic temples that make her wish she still had her Arri Alexa.

It also confuses her to no end.

This island looks like something directly out of a Japanese archaeologist's wildest fantasies. These people look nothing like archaeologists, so what are they doing here…?

She remembers what the two guys were doing with the vehicle.

They were scavenging.

They're stranded, like her.

But why…?

If these people are all working together, with this number they can build dozens of boats.

Why? Why are they still here?

Her feet start to ache.

The bearded guy notices her gasp and smiles smugly.

"You're lucky she happens to be here, or we'll have to drag you for another hour."

Holding her breath, Sam is viciously thrown to the ground and she hears the bald man calling loudly, "Miss Croft!"

From the corner of her eye Sam sees a pair of soiled dark brown boots swiftly making their way to her.

"Another one from that ship?"

That was the first line Sam heard from her.

Her voice is crisp and incisive, with a strong British accent and a hint of raw, bracing vigor, like mountain air.

"Most likely," the bearded man replies, "She knows English."

The man yanks Sam's hair and forces her to look at the woman.

She looks strikingly young, probably around the same age as Sam, which is way too young for Sam's comfort, to be a person all these hostile men collectively fear. Her dense, brown hair is tied up in a pony tail, and like the rest of the scavengers, her clothes are torn and ragged. Several kinds of weapons and a quiver are strapped to her body, and her bow is gleaming dangerously on her hand. However, none of those attract Sam more than her face. Her expression is battle-hardened; an expression unlike the ones Sam saw when she was recording an interview of war veterans. It is both sad and graceful at the same time, delicate but strong. And her eyes...there is something in those vibrant hazel eyes that Sam just cannot comprehend.

Power?

Menace?

Sympathy?

All she knows is that she can feel them drilling deep inside her mind, studying her, stripping her bare.

"Tell me the name of your ship."

Those eyes are commanding her to trust, to confide in her.

"…The Defiance."

And confide in her she does.

* * *

A/N: End of chapter 1. Should I continue this or not? Please tell me what you think!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: If there are any mistakes or anything out of ordinary in the story, please tell me so I can fix it :)

In this AU, the number of Stormguards on the island has not depleted. There are hundreds of them and they guard every corner of the monastery, preventing anyone from slipping in.

Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 2**

"_I hate this assignment. Why do we have to do this anyway?"_

"_You know, polishing your literary skills, widening your creativity, and all that shit."_

"_Fuck this."_

"_Hey… hey, Sam! They'll kick you out if you keep doing that."_

"_I'm not writing this bullshit!"_

"_Hey, Sam, man, you're scary when you're like this. You're usually cute and cheerful. No offense, but if only we're not cousins…"_

"_Jeff, you have a girlfriend."_

"_Anyway, c'mon, Sam, Dad's going to kill me if you get expelled again. Why do you hate this assignment anyway? It's just writing."_

"_Writing about love."_

"_Yes, well, I know it's sappy and stupid but…"_

"_I don't _know_ love."_

"_But, Sam…"_

"_I don't know what love fucking is."_

* * *

Her whole body hurts.

Staring back fiercely at her doesn't help.

Every word that comes out of the woman's mouth flays her body.

"Why are you even here…?" the woman says with a frustrated tone, "You and your crewmates. The whole world knows you're off your trolley to even think of travelling to the Dragon's Triangle. Haven't any of you heard about how dangerous it is? Haven't you ever heard of the Endurance?"

"Of course we have," Sam replies angrily, knowing full well that the armed guys around them are watching her closely and this woman she's talking to is the one controlling them all, "We are just trying to find Yamatai!"

"Well, congratulations," came the sarcastic reply. "You've found Yamatai!"

"Wha…This is Yamatai…?"

"Yes, and you shouldn't have gone looking for it in the first place…." The woman sighs. "Unless you're an archaeologist. What do you do for a living?"

"I…uh, I'm a filmmaker," Sam says, hearing the bitterness in her own voice that comes from years of being ridiculed.

The woman in front of her doesn't seem to notice. "That means you can go somewhere else, right? If you know that it's dangerous, why did you agree to do this?"

"Can you please stop sounding like you're really concerned about me?" Sam says wearily, "I just want to know what this place looks like, okay? Besides, it sounds cool, finding a lost kingdom. And maybe I can swear a few times at Himiko and ask her why I was even born."

Sam can hear restless whispers from around her when she mentions that name.

"…What did you just say?" the woman asks calmly.

"Okay, I didn't really mean that." Sam verbally backs away. "The queen sounds like one awesome ruler, you know. I just wonder sometimes why I…"

"You want to ask her why you were born," she interrupts, "Why is it that you want to do that here instead of your regular local Japanese tem—"

"Queen Himiko is my ancestor."

The atmosphere changes in an instant. The whispers become increasingly louder, the men's stares at Sam switch from playful complacence to pure horror, and the color drains from the woman's face.

The bearded man, who dragged Sam to that place, is the first to speak.

"She's probably lying, Miss Croft!" he says, pointing his grubby finger to Sam, "She probably just said that to protect her ass."

Some of the men look at each other and nod in agreement.

Sam swallows. It is true that there's no way she can prove that, but how come does it matter? Are they afraid of her? But why? What the hell is going on?

When the woman speaks again, her voice is strong and composed. "Nikolai," she turns to the bald guy that Sam recognizes, "Untie her hands."

Nikolai gives her a respectful nod and does it without delay.

Sam looks at her questioningly and she explains, "You'll come with me to the fortress. We'll continue our conversation there."

"You even have a fortress," Sam says, unable to hide the awe in her voice.

The woman smiles.

It is the first time Sam sees her smile, and it is so gorgeously charming that it takes Sam's breath away.

"I don't know your name," the woman says with a lighter tone.

"Oh, um," Sam stammers, "It's Samantha. Samantha Nishimura. You can call me Sam."

"Nice to meet you, Sam," her voice rings like pleasant music in Sam's ears, "I'm Lara Croft."

* * *

If at first Sam thought that their fortress was probably just a dreary gray old building or bunker, she could not have been more wrong. The scavengers have somehow transformed the ancient abandoned Yamatai palace itself into a roughly built living space. The walls are still draped with ivy and covered in moss, but otherwise it looks pretty habitable. They fixed the deteriorating bridges and connected the unreachable cliffs with zip lines, creating a number of paths to a large shanty town near the palace. They even have watch towers and a perfectly working cargo system.

The more Sam walks into this unknown community, the more amazed she becomes.

She can't help but admire the salvaging, the construction, and the crude masonry. Their work is rather unskilled and unsightly, but Sam can see the hidden beauty… everyone here is simply working together to reach one goal and one goal only: to survive.

However, it still bugs her mind how this young woman beside her can become their de facto leader.

Their trip goes smoothly until they arrive at the palace and a literal giant who suddenly approaches them makes Sam stop in the doorway and sprint to the opposite direction. Lara just pulls her back with a laugh and greets the giant, who eagerly replies to her with a low, rumbling voice, "Lady Croft."

A small blush creeps up Lara's cheek. "Borys, I've told you to stop calling me that."

The giant shrugs. "Everyone else is doing it."

"Can anyone on this island just please call me Lara…?"

Sam finds the slight irritation in Lara's voice rather cute.

Borys's laugh sounds like a friendly bark. "We can't just do that, Lady Croft."

"_Lara_ Croft."

"Lady Croft."

"Come on…" Lara utters, and Sam cannot suppress her giggle.

Lara turns to her with her eyebrows raised.

"What?" Sam asks playfully.

"Nothing,"Lara says, averting her gaze, "Just surprised because you never seem to be afraid of me at all."

"So you're actually not as harmless as a puppy?"

Saying that to a woman who is carrying four types of ammunition and multiple guns on her back is more amusing than she thought.

Lara obviously notices this and she lets out a chuckle.

"Your crewmates…you should've seen the look on their faces when they saw me, especially after Borys called me 'Lady Croft'. That man with the weird fringe just started shooting at me and I had to knock him out," she explains, "So yes, your reaction is pretty uncommon."

She must be talking about Jeff.

He has traveled around the world before and has seen more frightening things than Sam, so she wonders how Lara looked at that time that made him freak out like that.

Sam's anxiety seeps back into her mind.

She realizes all of a sudden that she is inside an empty windowless room with only one exit.

It is like walking right into a cage trap.

She wonders how Lara can notice her expression of fear much faster than any of her other expressions.

_It's those goddamn eyes again…_

_Intelligent…savage…_

It is when Sam hears Borys leaving the room and the door bolting shut that she can finally get her voice out of her throat. "Should I be afraid of you…?"

The way she reaches for an arrow in her quiver is so fluid.

"You should."

Sam clenches her hands, biting back the pain.

"I don't understand," she manages to say, "At least explain to me…"

She's already imagining how that ominous sharp tip will rip through her flesh.

"You said you have heard of the Endurance."

Both the tone of her voice and the look in her eyes grow darker.

"…I'm the only survivor of that ship."

* * *

That fateful night, fear became the only companion she had left.

It always stayed by her side; when she was taken captive, when she was hunted by both wolves and men, when she realized how the feeling of human blood on her skin was not that much different from that of an animal, when she lost the only person she had left in the world whom she could call a father …

After a betrayal, an explosion on a ship, and a storm that capsized the PT boat that left her behind, she found a new emotion lurking behind the shadows of her fear and loneliness.

Malice.

Constantly living in dread of death and being brutally separated from every person she cared about finally pushed her mental resolve to the brink of collapse.

_They all died because of me._

She was stuck alone in this nightmare, forever.

She desperately needed something to ease the pain, to provide her with a sweet, brief release.

Something…something…

_Please, someone_…

_Somebody please hug me…_

_Somebody please hold my arm…_

She could hear her own dry sobs.

'…_I have to end this suffering.'_

With that goal in mind, she proceeded to wreak havoc in any of the scavengers' bases that she could find, and soon enough every man on that island knew of her untamed, burning anger.

She met him for the first time under the corpses that were hanging from a dying tree.

She almost pulled the trigger when he offered her a cigarette. He didn't even bat an eyelid.

"You just look lonely" was his reply to her startled face.

Ryland was his name, and he was one of Mathias's most invaluable men.

She never found out whether it was his real name or not. He was a true Dorian Gray, seemingly untouched by age, and he always spoke with a slow, drawling voice.

"I know what you're doing…" he said while lighting another cigarette, "Let me tell you something before you kill me. We are losing hope of ever getting off this island."

She didn't say anything. She already knew of the unnatural storms that utter those terrifying words in Japanese.

_No one leaves_.

"We never know what it is that Father Mathias really saw in that monastery, and there is simply no way to break into that place ourselves, not with that number of Stormguards. He won't show us how he got into the monastery. He keeps telling us to wait. Wait for the key to show up. He said a woman with jet-black hair will come to this island one day. She will carry Queen Himiko's blood in her veins, and she will save us all."

"And that is also why you burnt every woman who came to this island…?"

Her gun was still pointed to his heart.

"She will never come," he said nonchalantly, "We waited and waited…while more and more people were sacrificed and tortured. We've had enough of this horseshit."

He didn't even have to say it aloud.

She already knew what he meant.

_We are going to rebel against the cult_, those eyes told her.

_Join us, and you can end this all_.

* * *

"Ryland faked my death and hid me among his insurgents. He gave me a disguise and a proper medical treatment. I didn't completely trust him at first, but he was cunning and protective; he never brought me along when Mathias was near. Before long, I became his right hand man. His comrades looked up to me and approved of my skills. After some time, we finally launched an attack to the cult. We lost so many… including Ryland."

Her tone remains indifferent, but Sam becomes aware of how the tip of her arrow shakes slightly.

"His last words are 'Take care of everyone for me. You are all they have left'. I ended Mathias right then and there… and then I realized that his words are true. Even after his death, none of these people can leave the island. They are all used to following a leader. They depend on me now."

Sam can imagine it happening. Lara simply has that strange reliable aura around her that can make people want to trust her. Even Sam could sense it when they first met.

"We searched the temples and tombs around the island for clues, but the real secret seems to be hidden inside the monastery…"

"…Which is heavily guarded by the Oni, so you have no way of getting in," Sam continues, remembering her grandmother's stories.

Oh God, this is all so surreal.

Sam doesn't know if Lara is insane or not, but nobody else has ever given Sam such a serious look before.

"I get it," Sam says, looking away, "So let's recap. Uhh… Queen Himiko's storms are preventing us from leaving this island. There might be a way to stop her if we go to the monastery, but there are just too many Stormguards, and there is no way we can sneak past them, so we're all kind of stuck here for a while. But this Mathias guy seemed to know something and he used to preach some weird stuff about me, so… the people outside…"

"These people here are my family," Lara says earnestly, "They are also all that I have left. That is why I will protect them with all my power. But some of them doubt me, especially the ones who were loyal to Mathias. They have been waiting for far too long. They demand a change, a progress. They were originally united by fear, but now that they have more freedom from that fear, this 'Brotherhood' has become much more fragile than before. Everyone here knows about the 'key', about you, whether they believe in Mathias or not. You are the change that they've been waiting for."

"That means…" Sam says, terror fills her eyes when she sees Lara drawing back the string of her bow, "That means I…"

"If you really are the descendant of the Sun Queen, for some of them, you can be their only chance to escape this island," Lara says, never taking her sight off Sam's neck, "You are a dangerous existence, Samantha Nishimura. We cannot allow more rifts among our people. There have already been too many victims …"

"…Are you going to kill me?" Sam asks feebly.

This hurts. The mere sight of Lara pointing an arrow at her hurts. She has no idea why.

"No, but I might need to do it if you don't agree to my conditions."

Sam doesn't know how she should feel about that. "…So it all depends on my answer?"

"Correct," Lara says quietly, "One, you must do everything as I say, and two, you must never, ever leave my side without my permission, no matter what the consequences."

"Oh," Sam says uncomfortably, thinking about all the unfortunate implications of those conditions, "Alright… I can accept that."

Lara exhales a deep breath and slings her bow to her shoulder.

"…I'm glad I don't need to prove to anyone that I'm Queen Himiko's descendant…?" Sam says in an exhausted tone.

"Oh, we do have a way to prove that you're Queen Himiko's descendant."

"Great, more magic shit. What is that?"

"We tie you to a pyre," Lara mutters, "And then we set you on fire."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Kudos to Little Donkey for the beta!

Thank you so much for the follows, favs, and reviews, everyone! I love you all!

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Lara Croft doesn't believe she's the descendant of the Sun Queen.

That is the conclusion Sam arrived to when Lara made her promise not to leave her side no matter what. She did it so that she can keep an eye on Sam at all times and nobody will try burning her on a pyre, although this is probably all just Sam's own wishful thinking.

…But if it is true, why is she protecting her?

She can just let them do it.

It will definitely increase her men's morale.

Why won't she do it?

Why won't she risk the life of this one measly girl?

Why…? Why?

Why is Lara Croft protecting her…?

_I don't think anyone will cry if I die…_

It might be better to think she will be burnt by Lara after all.

* * *

The dreaded moment arrives.

Sam hasn't received many scars, but she has a general idea on how it will feel.

They can't waste their precious supply of painkillers for this.

This is going to _hurt_.

This is going to really hurt, like _scream-inducing_ hurt.

"You look dreadful."

_Oh please, please, just make it over already._

"Next time, you have to do this by yourself."

Please_, please save the lectures for later._

"You have to at least be able to treat your own injuries."

_Oh, fucking…_

"Are you listening to me, Sam…? Sam?"

Sam's knee makes contact with Lara's chin, knocking her down to the floor.

* * *

"It's alright, get your guns off her, go away, just go away, I can handle this."

Sam feels three gun muzzles being reluctantly pulled away from her neck.

"Leave us alone." The men don't seem to expect that order, but they obey her without asking.

Lara does not look pleased.

"I'm sorry, it's just…uh, reflex." Sam hastily gets up.

The apology seems to have the opposite effect.

"…So that's your involuntary response to pain?" Lara asks, and there is a sinister hint in her voice that makes Sam back away. "A knee jab? You must be quite a flirt."

Sam doesn't have time to hide her blush. "Call me whatever you want but I don't play around," she says, sitting back on her chair. "…And as soon as we finish this, I can go see my crewmates, right? I have to see them."

"Fine." Lara gives her a shrug. "Is that good bloke with the fringe your boyfriend?"

"I'm single," Sam says through gritted teeth, "And he's my cousin. Why do you care, anyway…?"

"Just wondering," Lara says as she unrolls a bandage.

Sam can't help but notice the small smile tugging on Lara's lips.

"Alright, now don't move…"

Several excruciating minutes later, Sam's broken finger was splinted and all the deep cuts on her arms were properly cleaned and bandaged.

Sam's breathing has just gone back to normal when Lara suddenly says, "Okay…now take off your clothes."

"What?" Sam exclaims.

"I've seen how you move. There has to be at least one or two blunt injuries there…" Lara says matter-of-factly.

"Oh, it's nothing. I'm okay, really." Sam surprises even herself with how fast she declines.

"…Are you hiding something? Like a hideous tattoo?" Lara asks in a curious tone.

"No."

"Then why?"

Sam wishes she knew that herself.

Lara draws in a deep breath and drums her fingers on the table. "…Or you'd rather have one of the fellows outside do it?"

"No!" Sam answers, although it did cross her mind that undressing in front of a man might be easier than this, "No, just you is fine…you're…"

_Overwhelming…awe-inspiring…_

_I just don't want to be seen by those eyes…_

_Those eyes are so beautiful it hurts…_

She possesses that rare kind of beauty that would look absolutely stunning on film.

Lara tilts her head to the side. "Sam…?"

_Oh, God, why is she so persistent…?_

Sam finally decides to give in. "…Fine, I'll do it, but help me out, okay?"

Lara is gentle. Sam takes a deep breath and Lara pulls her black jacket off with such care and cautiousness that it slides almost painlessly over her arms. It is as if she has done this many times before. Does she also tend the wounds of her comrades…?

Lara drops the leather jacket on the floor and glances at her meaningfully. Sam takes that as an order to raise her arms and regrets it immediately when she finds out that their bodies are now closer to each other than ever before while Lara is skillfully taking Sam's top off.

_We can fucking look at each other's cleavage._

While Sam's eyes are busily evading that spot below Lara's green pendant, or the bold scars on her upper body that can be easily seen because she's wearing a tank top, Lara has draped a wet cloth around Sam's shoulders and started to clean her body.

The result is immediate and obvious.

There's no way it escapes Lara's attention.

"Sam…?" she says, while Sam is using her whole power to swallow her gasp, "…You were trashing around before, but now you're so quiet…"

Every touch from Lara triggers a spark on Sam's skin, a spark so powerful that it overcomes the stinging pain… and in a way she is even more desperate for this to be over than when Lara applies antiseptics into her wounds. The awful boot-shaped bruise on her chest is so visible even under the dim light, and she dislikes how her heart flutters when Lara looks at it, tenderly examines it. The violent shivers her body is making are caused more by Lara's borderline sensual touches and less by her poignant wounds.

She can just finish it quickly, a few wipes and that's it, but no, she just has to reach every curve of her body like a proper nurse.

A hot, loving nurse.

_No, Sam, you must not moan…_

Not even her exes had ever touched her body this thoroughly…

_You cannot moan….you cannot…_

It is when the tips of Lara's fingers graze her breast that she can't handle it anymore.

Feeling more emotionally drained than ever, Sam grabs Lara's hand and stutters, "O-Okay, that's enough for today."

"Huh? But…"

"No, please give me back my shirt."

"Wait, I still need to…"

"I'm clean enough, thank you!"

"Not that, your…"

"Please, I'd rather have more wounds! !"

"What the bloody hell are you talking about? ?"

"Just give back my shirt!"

* * *

Lara explains that in order to prevent anyone from becoming a drain on their limited resources, everybody has to learn how to survive. She enforces a few strict rules on her men: they absolutely must not kill anyone unless necessary, including any new survivors, they must know how to protect themselves, and they have to work together with their comrades. Lara also ordered them to destroy the radio tower, putting an end to Mathias's scheme to lure as many ships and planes as possible to the island.

"Our living standards are already as bad as it is, we can't let them go down the plughole," she tells Sam, "We have to do something about the people who threaten our safety and who will just not cooperate. I hope you understand why we keep them here, Sam."

They are walking down a dank underground passage under the palace that Lara says will lead them directly into the geothermal caverns. The sounds of trickling water and escaping gas reverberate through the tunnel. The scavengers have hung up small lamps on the walls and built structures made of scraps so they can navigate the place without much difficulty. They truly have invaded the deepest parts of the island, and probably everywhere else but the monastery.

As she follows Lara into the tunnel, she tries her hardest to avoid looking at Lara's buttocks and forces her brain to be unnaturally fascinated by the two-way radio on Lara's belt.

"I know, uh…I heard," Sam says, carefully going down the steps, "I was almost killed earlier because my cousin accidentally shot one of your men."

Sam can't see Lara's expression clearly in the dark passageway.

"…Please don't punish him," Sam adds, "The brother, I mean…uh, what's his name? The one with the beard?"

"Dmitri."

"Right, please don't punish him. He just lost his brother, didn't he…? It's… understandable. "

Lara suddenly stops walking.

"Um…I'm sorry," Sam apologizes for no reason, "…Did I just say something wrong?"

"Not exactly," Lara replies, "But it is just a rarity on this island… or probably, you are."

"Well, I am the descendant…" Sam says bitterly as water splashes around her feet. They are going deeper now, and more water is dripping down from the stalactites.

"Not that kind of rarity," Lara says again, "The kind that sympathizes with a stranger who just almost killed her instead of…I don't know, hating him."

"…Believe me, I'm not exactly an angel or whatever it is that you think I am. And you know, you can just say that it's dumb," Sam says, although her compliment makes her a bit happy. "Unlike you, I'm just not made for survival. I'm that girl who dies first in horror stories."

"Or the damsel in distress," Lara says in a playful manner.

"Or the love interest."

The words slip out of Sam's mouth before she can stop it.

Lara keeps walking this time, but Sam doesn't know if she should be grateful or not for the darkness.

The awkward silence between them is cut off by a loud gunshot.

Lara's reaction is that of an experienced fighter. She jerks Sam close to her, causing her to lose her balance, and hides them behind a nearby rock. There are more ear-splitting gunshots, incensed shouts, and rumbling sounds of footsteps that fill the air around them with terror. Lara is preparing her weapon when they hear her name being called from the other side of the rock, "Miss Croft, are you there? !"

"Brennan!" Lara calls back, loading her handgun magazine, "Fill me in!"

"They're escaping!" the man yells among the sounds of gunfire, "The people from that new ship, they're escaping!"

"Shit!"

Brennan suddenly appears from his side of the rock. His scalp is bleeding.

"No…They still brought firearms?" Lara asks urgently.

"I've told you we shouldn't trust them, Miss Croft!" He stumbles, and Sam hurriedly holds onto his arm.

He mumbles a short "thanks" and says, "We should've thrown them to The Pit…we should've…"

Lara grabs her radio and barks an order, "The new survivors are escaping with guns. Send men to the exits of the geothermal caverns! Bring weapons, now!"

"The gas is leaking…they must've opened the valve…" Brennan tells them, and sure enough they can see the foul greenish gas hissing menacingly from the cracked pipes around them. "Run, Miss Croft, just leave us, run away!"

Lara looks him in the eye and says, "I can't just leave the others…"

"Why did they open the valve?" Sam asks, watching the gas floating upwards, "This gas… It looks flammable…Is it methane?"

Sam realizes what her crewmates are doing.

She turns toward Lara and Brennan and cries, "No! Look out!"

A deafening explosion conceals their sight with a blindingly white light as they duck to the ground and an earthquake sends violent vibrations through the cave. Fissures appear on the cave floor, and Sam thinks, _Fuck, you guys, you're crazy…_, before she feels someone tugging her arm.

"Run, grab Miss Croft and run!"

Sam's mind is wiped blank. She rushes toward Lara, who is already standing up, and says, "We gotta get out of here! !"

Lara shakes her head adamantly, but Sam holds her hand out and screams to her, "No, no, we can't die here! They need you! The rest of them need you!"

That seems to snap Lara out of her hesitance, and soon they are running as fast as they can to the direction where they came from, ignoring the howls of agony from behind.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Sam hears Lara mutter over and over.

It is so heartrending that Sam wishes she just would stop. It makes her think of Jeff and her crewmates, and as she and Lara make their way out of the caverns, she prays with all her heart that they are safe.

When they finally see the sun again from one of the palace rooms, the situation outside is chaotic. Sam's crewmates have probably escaped from the caverns.

"Damn it," Lara says, breathing heavily, "I have to go out there and see."

"I'm going with you," Sam says firmly.

"No, it's too dangerous. You don't know how to fight, do you?" Lara snaps, and Sam knows it's useless to lie.

"Are you suggesting that I stay in here and sit around hopelessly while my friends are in grave danger?" Sam asks, her voice trembling.

"Yes," Lara answers, her eyes are burning with an intimidating, astounding force, "You have agreed to do everything as I say, so stay here and don't you dare take even one step out of the palace!"

While Sam is taken aback, Lara has leapt out of the window and disappeared from sight.

_Goddamnit_, Sam thinks as her eyes dart around the room. "You can't fucking do this to me!"

San does not see a single soul around. They must all be somewhere else because of the confusion her crewmates are causing.

Her inclination for defying the rules returns to her.

There's no way anyone can put Samantha Nishimura in a pretty cage.

She will break out of there in style.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

With a bit of following and sneaking around, Sam can figure out which direction she needs to go. Lara has torn down the radio tower, and her crewmates obviously know nothing about Queen Himiko's storms, so if they still have their ship mechanic, they are probably heading to the beach.

And to their doom.

She has to stop that from happening.

She is spotted once or twice, but whenever she acts like Lara has sent her there, the guys don't even bother to check if she's lying or not and leave her alone. From their conversation, Sam concludes that her crewmates might be hiding somewhere at the beach, which is far away from the scavengers' reach and a place that they don't visit often.

She knows just the place. In fact, she spent quite some time sleeping there, with her limbs dangling from a tree and nobody finding her.

However, she won't tell these guys about it. The memory of Dmitri almost beating her to a pulp is still fresh in her mind. She might trust Lara, but she can't bring herself to trust any of these people.

She rushes back to that beach laden with old wrecks and searches frantically for any sign of her crew.

Her search isn't in vain.

After so long, she finally hears her cousin's voice again. "Sam…?"

She looks up to find the young raven-haired man staring at her from the top of a tiny concrete building, his vest and shirt covered in mud and his right eye bruised and bloodied. He is pointing a pistol at her, obviously preparing for a sneak attack before he recognizes her face.

"Oh God, Jeff!" she cries in relief.

"Sam! You're alive…!" he blurts out. "Hey, everyone, Sam's still alive!"

One by one, the heads of her crewmates pop up from behind him: Olivia, who has a nasty cut on her cheek that smeared her face with dried blood; Dr. Josef, who looks unhurt but emotionally shaken; and Dr. Clement, the lead archaeologist who glances at her like she's the most boring thing in the world.

"Where are the others?" Sam asks, but she already knows the answer from their grim expression.

"…Marko is alive," Jeff says as he climbs down the building, "He's looking for some parts to fix a boat we found, but it's mostly working again. You should've been here when he was working on it, Sam, that guy is a genius."

"Paddy was with us," Olivia replies with her usual high-pitched voice, "…Until last night. He provoked one of the guards too much and he cut off his neck in front of us…"

She shivers convulsively, as if she's seeing the image in her mind.

"That brown-haired woman came afterwards," Dr. Josef continues, "I don't know why but… she had this… this… _murderous_ look in her eyes that made Paddy's killer kneel down in front of her and beg for forgiveness… I could even hear him _crying_… and she did nothing but stare at him and the two men she brought along with her just dragged him away while he screamed his lungs out."

"Who the hell is that woman…?" Jeff says in a vexed tone, "She's creepy as fuck, I have no idea why she hasn't killed us off already."

"She's trying to _protect_ you," Sam says, feeling an inexplicable anger bubbling up inside her.

They're describing Lara like she's an inhumane murderer.

They're afraid of Lara, who tended Sam's wounds with a sweet smile on her lips.

They insulted Lara, without knowing what kind of hell that she has been through on the island.

"What is this…?" Dr. Clement says, folding his arms, "You have met her?"

"What…?" Jeff says in disbelief, "Sam…are you…are you working with her?"

"No, she…she never intends to kill you!" Sam says, as her crewmates start to panic and Jeff raises his gun again, "Please, you have to trust me, you must not set sail. You have to stay on this island."

"Why do you believe those guys so easily…?" Jeff says, his voice is shaking and his wild eyes fall on Sam's splinted finger, "They treated you. You're working for them. Don't tell me… you betrayed us…? You're leading them to us…?"

"No! Jeff!"

However, her crewmates won't listen to her anymore.

"Everyone, head to the boat, we have to leave immediately!" Jeff says as his crewmates hurry down the building and run toward the beach, "I'll look for Marko!"

Before Sam can say anything else, Marko has chosen that exact moment to come into sight, completely out of breath and clutching his bloody arm.

"Jeff, they're coming!" he wails, "Go to the boat, Jeff, go!"

Jeff throws a disgusted look at Sam before he rushes to Marko and drapes his uninjured arm over his shoulder.

"If you insist on going to the sea, you will die!" Sam says to him, "That storm will appear again, Jeff, and there is no way you can survive it this time!"

"As opposed to being killed by those madmen?" Jeff scoffs, rolling his eyes, "I'll take the easier option, thanks."

"They are not trying to kill you!"

"Goddamnit, Sam, you can't trust every stranger you just met!" he cries out angrily.

"Well, why won't you listen to me? !" she yells back, "Why won't you listen to me when I'm trying to save your fucking miserable, sorry ass? !"

_Why does this happen again…?_

_Why is it always like this for her…?_

The voices she has been suppressing in her mind suddenly come back to her like an unstoppable flood.

_The voice of a frightened little girl…_

"_Mama, why won't you listen to me…?"_

_The voice of a hurt teenager…_

"_Father, why won't you just listen to me…?"_

_The voice of a furious adult…_

"_And why do I have to do that to a miserable excuse for a daughter? !"_

The image of Jeff quickly walking away with Marko is slowly going out of focus.

Sam clenches her eyes, trying to push out the thoughts from her head.

"_Go away!"_

"_Scram!"_

"_Useless girl!"_

"_Take all the money you want!"_

"_Just don't ever come back to this house!"_

_No, no, now is not the time for this_, she thinks as her mind languishes away, _I have to save him, I have to save them…_

"There they are! !"

The scavengers have arrived, and Sam doesn't need to look at them to know that they are all carrying weapons. They're numerous and are surrounding them from several directions. She gazes at them in horror when she sees the worst possible man to lead them: Dmitri.

Jeff hears the noise and turns to them with his gun at the ready.

They hear a loud bang, a shrill cry of pain, and a moment later, a sickening thump from Dmitri's side.

Dmitri's wrathful roar is all that Sam needs to know.

She races toward Jeff and Marko, watching from the corner of her eye how Dmitri unsheathes a dagger and charges forward, his eyes gleaming like an enraged animal.

She only has a split second, but it's enough.

Enough to shield her friends from danger, but not herself.

However, she doesn't mind in the slightest.

_At least you can die protecting someone…_

The world seems to slow down a little when you know you're going to die.

_Still a pitiful existence until the end…_

She prepares herself for the horrible impact, and a silent farewell unexpectedly crosses her mind.

_Good bye, Lara…_

But the impact never comes.

The only thing that does is a strong pair of arms that wrap themselves around her body.

Tenderly, almost like a mother.

A heartbreaking groan pierces Sam's ear as chocolate-colored hair brushes her cheek.

Sam's brain melts into a tangled mess of disarray as they both slump to the ground.

"No…" she chokes out a whisper, her hands shakily reaching the arms of her protector around her neck, "Lara…?"

She can't see her face over her shoulder. She desperately palpates Lara's back and finds the warm, soaked blood stain on her left side. The blade of the knife went through the weapon straps on her back and into her flesh.

"Lara? Lara! !"

She has no idea what to do except for calling her name.

Panic and disorder surround them with screams and despair, but none of them matter at all to Sam. Every sound she hears is meaningless, and her whole world is reduced to this one woman who has sacrificed her body for her, a complete stranger. She feels like the dagger has made a gut-wrenching hole in her own heart.

Among her cries she can hear Dmitri being hurled to the ground and clobbered by probably a dozen men.

"What have you fucking done to Miss Croft? !"

"Go to hell!"

"Die! !"

"Kill yourself, asshole! !"

And the voices that sound so near and yet so far…

"Get away from her, you fucking outsider!"

"It's no use, she won't let her go!"

"Miss Croft, we need to treat your wound, please let her go!"

She can hear more sounds from behind her.

"Sam, I have to get to Sam!"

"No, Jeff, we have to go now! This might be our only chance!"

"But Sam just protected me! She must have a change of heart!"

"We can't get to her now! If we go back they'll attack us again!"

"Jeff, let's go!"

_Jeff…_ Sam thinks, casting an empty glance at her crewmates' backs as they escape, _No…come back…_

_They're so far away…_

_Is there nothing that I can do?_

_Have I lost everything…?_

Then she hears yet another voice, but this time it comes from around the back of her neck.

"Sam…"

It feels like her heart stopped beating for a second.

"Lara…?"

"I've told you to stay in the palace…" Lara murmurs.

"I'm sorry…" Sam says, blinking back her tears, "I'm so sorry I left the palace…but you have a fucking knife stuck in your back right now and there're like a hundred other things that you should care about instead of that…"

Lara's breathing is fast, but steady. She keeps ignoring the pleas from her men to release Sam. Her hug is like an iron grip.

"You finally say my name," she huffs.

Sam blinks, wondering what the hell she is thinking.

"Lara," she repeats, putting her forehead on Sam's shoulder, "Someone finally…calls me Lara."

Sam almost can't believe her ears.

She is more concerned about that than a knife stuck in her back.

At that moment Sam understands just how lurid and harrowing Lara's life has been on the island. She must have gone through more, more painful and agonizing things than Sam can ever imagine. It makes her want to cry. She doesn't deserve to live like this.

"Stupid," Sam sobs, putting her arms around Lara's neck and hugs her tightly, "You're so stupid."

"You told me that you think you're dumb for being nice…" Lara says throatily, "Well I guess I'm dumb, too."

* * *

Sam heard from her grandmother that the anger of the ancestors is one of those things that every Japanese wants to avoid at all costs.

That day, Sam finally witnesses from afar what that anger truly means.

She doesn't want to provoke Queen Himiko in a hundred years.

She has just followed Lara and the men into a small hut near the beach, where Lara can rest on a wooden bed, when they hear the almighty thunder and the horrible shriek. Sam and Lara are probably the only ones in that room who understand what it means, but most of the men have lived on the island long enough to guess.

"_No one leaves!"_

Sam can't stand watching it for too long.

She turns her back against the window, trying to forget about how her friends are probably drowning right at that moment.

And then there's also Lara.

She doesn't say anything else to Sam in that room; she is busily fighting her fresh wound and is completely asleep and sedated by the end of it. The guys keep glancing anxiously at Sam when they're guarding Lara, but Sam doesn't mind that much.

Lara's stories and everything about Queen Himiko are totally and utterly true. That means joining these guys are not a mistake, and they know this island better than anyone since they have endured this isolation for God knows how many years.

"Don't misunderstand."

One of the guys finally speaks to her.

Sam recognizes him as the guy from the cave. His head is bandaged and one of his ears is burnt. He towers over her, his head almost touching the ceiling of the hut.

"Miss Croft only saved you because of the rubbish you said, so don't ever think that you're fucking special."

The other guys are now watching them intently. Sam actually wanted to tell him she's glad he survived, but his harsh words completely put her off.

"You mean that I might be Queen Himiko's descendant?" Sam asks, stifling her irritation, "Unfortunately she _is_ my ancestor, and I'm as upset as you are about it, so just leave me alone already."

"If you really are one then you should've been able to get us out of this mess!" he stomps.

"Hey, if you think I'm some kind of messiah then you're sorely mistaken," Sam argues, "I'm just a regular girl and I didn't even know that all this supernatural shit is real until a few hours ago!"

The dejected look on their faces is what makes Sam realize that she shouldn't have spoken like that.

"I'm sorry," she mutters under her breath, but they don't say anything back.

Several minutes pass in silence before Sam decides that she has to do something about the situation. She understands what Brennan is unhappy about; Lara has just risked her life saving hers and she doesn't want to just sit around doing nothing.

"Hey, Brennan…" she calls out to the guy. "Can we see the monastery from around here?"

Some of the men glare at her, but Brennan doesn't.

"I know I'm not supposed to be away from Lara…" Sam says, scrunching her shoulders up by her ears, "But it feels bad to just wait here…maybe I can do something if I know more…so perhaps if it's not too far…?"

Brennan considers her request for a couple of seconds.

"…Alright," he finally says, "There is a cliff near here where you can see the mountain from a distance, so if you're okay with that, I can show you the way."

* * *

A/N: And there you go. My life is getting more hectic and there's a possibility of this fic not being continued if it's not worth the little time I have. Hopefully I can keep going. Thanks for reading.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Thank you for your reviews, everyone! They really keep me going.

Have fun reading this chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 5**

As if celebrating the storm that violently buried the rest of her crewmates to the bottom of the sea, a vicious downpour falls without break throughout Sam's path to the coast, while bringing along a curtain of darkness to the sinking sun on the sky and a pitiless squall that slices her skin.

The baleful whistles of the wind sound like a satisfied laugh to her ears.

_You're still here, Sam…?_

"Yes, I am," she yells to no one in particular, her voice drowning in the rain.

_What are you doing? Just go back to them already and cower like the little girl you are..._

"I'm not a coward!"

_But you're still a little girl._

_You're still that little girl who picked up the pieces of your mother's broken bottle…_

She crouches down, water battering her head like a hail of bullets.

_Okay, I haven't had this kind of thoughts for over a year, so there has to be something wrong with me._

Is it stress? Or pain? Exhaustion? Whatever it is, it is severely messing with her head.

_Come on, get a grip_, she scolds herself, _You're here for Lara._

She takes a deep breath and stands back up again just as lightning flashes in the sky. She finally reaches the edge of the cliff when the layers of gray clouds have fully taken over the sun, and she almost can't see anything.

"Oh, great. I knew it would be a bit hard to see in this weather but I never expected it to be this hopeless," she grumbles, squinting her eyes toward the direction Brennan has told her while waves are thrashing around from below.

She directs her gaze to the hot silver sky and wonders if this is also Queen Himiko's doing.

_What the hell do you torture all these people for?_

_Why are you so angry?_

"Seen anything?" she hears a man's voice from behind her. She can't see him clearly, but she knows that voice.

"Nothing," she says, rain trickling into her eyes, "Not even the mountain."

"Amazing, isn't it? You've just gone for thirty seconds and this fucking monsoon suddenly came out of nowhere. Miss Croft woke up and jumped out of the room before I could explain that you're just taking a stroll. I guess she was still pretty high, she almost put a hole in my head," Brennan says, laughing when she sees Sam's expression to his story.

"Is she okay?" Sam asks anxiously.

"Nah, don't worry about her. Even if we don't treat her she's still able to kill off at least fifty people."

Sam gives him a disapproving look and he adds, "God, I'm not joking. It fucking happened before."

Seriously, the more Sam hears about Lara's exploits, the more she's convinced that she might be a Terminator.

"And not even her can get into the monastery," Sam says.

"Well, definitely not for the lack of trying," he states grimly, "Those damn monsters just won't give us a break, and Miss Croft refuses to risk our necks. We have told her, countless times, that we don't mind dying for her, but she never came up with a single plan that endangered our lives. Or…any other plans after that disaster."

"What happened…?" Sam asks, wondering if it is okay for her to find out.

"You can call it our most successful plan so far, although we didn't make any earth-shattering discovery. We got pretty far into the monastery, but I think something triggers them into a rampage. We were forced to retreat, but they were not done with us. They came out of the monastery and started searching the island, destroying and killing everything they saw. We lost a lot of our unsuspecting brothers. It was a nightmare, knowing they could easily wreck our stronghold if they wanted to," he explains in a blank manner, "And then the next morning, they were gone. Gone back to their monastery like nothing happened."

For a while they don't say anything to each other, and Sam doesn't want to interrupt his reminiscing. The heavy rain is still hammering down mercilessly on them.

"Miss Croft… I think she wanted to cry at that time, but she went through it all dry-eyed…"

"Lara cares a lot about you," Sam says to him, "She probably didn't want to show any weakness, not when you were all feeling so devastated."

"…If you understand that much, you do understand how your arrival made her feel, right?" Brennan says louder than ever, "She knows you're important, but she doesn't have a clue about what she should do with you. She can't let anyone burn you on a stake, because that would violate her principle to save any harmless survivor. She also can't allow a rift to happen, which probably will once more people believe that you are the descendant. You are giving her a huge fucking headache and you know that."

She does. It is painfully obvious that Lara is trying so hard to let her live.

"…Do _you_ want to burn me on a stake?" she asks.

Brennan doesn't seem to expect her to ask that question. "…I would if that can help anyone," he says, "But Mathias never clearly told us what we should do after we prove you're the descendant. Should we kill you? Drown you in the sea? Hand you to the Stormguards? Drink your blood?"

Sam thinks that whatever it is they believe they should do, it will lead to her horrifying death anyways.

"But like I said, at least your arrival here gives us something to think about. Something to hope for. You're never safe here."

He raises an eyebrow when Sam doesn't say anything back.

"I thought you would get scared and decide to run away from us."

"First you think I'm a cur, and now you think I'm an ungrateful bitch?" Sam answers, staring emptily into the distance, "I can tell that you've been loyal to Lara for a long time. You would definitely kill me if Lara risked her own life for nothing, wouldn't you…?"

Realizing that he can't test her, he barely gives her a reply as the rainstorm rages around them, "…I would."

* * *

As soon as Lara opens her eyes for the second time, she can see nothing but Sam's body tackling her into a heartfelt hug, which is quickly separated by Brennan, who doesn't approve of the physical intimacy and lifts Sam over his shoulder as she flails around in surprise.

"Miss Croft, it's nice to see you again."

"Brennan, put me down!"

"We also need to discuss where we should keep this…thing on my shoulder for the time being."

"I'm not a thing!"

"Oh," Lara says, still wondering what the racket is all about, "It's okay. She's staying with me."

Sam closes her eyes, not wanting to see the look on the gawking guys' faces.

"She'll sleep in your room?"

"We can sleep together."

"No!"

"Is there something wrong with that?"

"Miss Croft, you know nothing about this girl! What if she's a…a…"

Sam and the guys hold their breath.

"A predator…!"

"What…?"

"A predator that… preys on women!"

"Just say what you really mean already! I'm fucking offended!" Sam exclaims.

"Sam won't attack me in my sleep," Lara says, completely missing the point, "Or more like, she can't."

That confident tone sends shivers down Sam's spine and her mind goes into absolute overdrive.

_She didn't mean it sexually she didn't mean it sexually she didn't mean it sexually…_

"Sam and I have made agreements about this, and she's safest when she's with me," Lara states, "I hope there won't be any more objections from you."

There isn't, but it's clear that some of the guys are thinking about how hopeless Lara is at this whole thing.

* * *

By the time they get back into the palace, Lara is already walking and jumping around as if her injury never happened. She flexes her arms and stretches, even playing with her red climbing axe for a bit.

"That's more like it," she remarks, practicing a few swings with a satisfied look on her face.

"What are you made of, steel…?" Sam asks, watching how she wields it perfectly, like a hand weapon instead of a climbing tool. From the blood and grime that stains its pointed end, Sam doesn't feel like she wants to know.

"I guess it just needs more than that to take me down?" she says lightly, rubbing the bandages on her stomach, "But it opened an old wound I had. Thank God for painkillers."

"Can I ask about that old wound?" Sam says as they continue walking.

"Probably one of my worst memories," she replies, but she tells Sam anyway as they walk along the drafty corridor and through a beautifully painted sliding door into a spacious Japanese-style room covered with traditional _tatami_ mats.

The corner of the room is cluttered with a mountain of relics and artifacts. There are masks, fans, dogtags, coins, vases, jade statuaries, daggers, helmets, toys, and wallets, both ancient and modern. Sam gazes at them in a mixture of awe and confusion.

"Do you suffer from kleptomania…?" she asks.

"I'm an _archaeologist_, which is what most people would think first instead of that, you know," Lara says, distinctly annoyed.

"You wield an assault rifle, you shrugged off a knife in your back, and you lead a ragtag militia of rampageous middle-aged men," Sam points out, "Have anyone ever guessed you're an archaeologist on their first try...?"

"Okay," Lara says, sitting on the mat without putting away her weapons, "Sit down."

Sam eyes her for a few seconds before doing what she asked her to.

"We're going to be together for a while," Lara begins, "So maybe it's best if we know more about each other."

"Finally a harmless-looking session," Sam mutters.

Lara's tone becomes much more serious afterward, "Sam, why did you break our agreement…?"

Sam makes a noise. She knew this moment would come.

"I'm so sorry…I will never do that again, I swear," she replies timidly, "My crew mates could die anytime and it felt bad to… to be the only one who's safe, you know? I just had to go…"

Lara only glares at her mutely.

"I'm sorry about your injury, I really do. If I could take it away from you, I would…" she says, staring at Lara's boots, "Lara, please forgive me… Maybe…you shouldn't have saved me. I've broken our agreement... why did you do it…?"

The disdainful look on Lara's face makes Sam want to sink into the floor.

"…You threw yourself in front of the knife," Lara says, "Your eyes…they were suicidal. I've seen enough eyes like those on this island. Sometimes their owners confuse suicidal thoughts with heroic deeds."

Sam feels like punching herself in the head. Lara's words clench her heart like an invisible hand.

"Why did you throw away your life like that, Sam?" she asks, "This is important, I don't want to continue protecting a miserable, suicidal girl."

_Miserable…miserable…_

"_You miserable excuse for a daughter! !"_

Sam's hands curl into fists on her knees. She dislikes how Lara has that accusing look in her eyes.

_You don't know anything about me…_ Sam thinks, biting the inside corner of her cheek, _Don't you dare judge me..._

"I don't have anyone else, okay?" she blurts out, struggling to push her disquieting thoughts deep in the back of her mind, "I know it's idiotic, because my parents have money and I can date guys and go clubbing or do whatever I want in any part of the world… but no matter what I do, nothing on earth can convince my brain that I'm actually needed in somebody else's life..."

She evades Lara's eyes, knowing how pathetic she must look.

Why does she suddenly say all this to a woman she just met…?

"I'm probably just using my parents' money to find some pitiful self-worth," Sam admits, "Although I don't know how I can do that… or if I ever will. Sometimes I think about it, you know…suicide…but I thought I wasn't that low …but you've seen how low I actually am…"

Oh, God, now she feels like crying. Totally amazing, Sam.

"…Yes, that was low and reckless," Lara finally says, "But still brave nonetheless."

Sam just realizes that Lara is fixing her gaze softly at her.

"One thing for sure is that you don't lack the courage," she says again, "You must have been fighting alone for a long time."

_What…?_

Sam stares at her like she has never seen another human being before.

_How can she compliment me during a time like this…?_

"It can never compare to your fight, though…?" Sam barely says.

"This will sound sappy but… everyone is fighting their own battles," Lara answers simply, "Which I know nothing of and I have no right to judge."

Sam loses her patience.

She hastily grabs Lara's shoulders and yells at her, "But I have parents! I'm rich! They might not love me, but they give me money! And I'm fucking whining about them! Why don't you say anything about how ungrateful I am, how I deserve to die, or burn in hell, or something? ! Why don't you hate me and tell me to shut up and… and…"

The dams on her tear ducts slowly crumble to pieces.

"Why…?" she sobs, her bandaged hands slipping away from Lara as she slumps down to the floor, "Why didn't I meet you sooner…?"

She feels a rough finger caressing the trails of water on one cheek.

"I don't have the slightest idea…" came the light-hearted reply, "Probably so that neither of us regret coming to this island…?"

Sam cannot stop her tears. She clasps the hand on her cheek and gazes at Lara, with the scratches on her skin that chronicle her journey as a survivor, the muscles on her arms that possess far more ruggedness than what they show on the surface, and the doleful, yearning look in her eyes as she cups Sam's face.

"I don't have anybody else out there, either," Lara says, her eyes boring deeply into Sam's, as if she's trying to drown herself inside them, "Everyone here is all I have left..."

Lara doesn't say anything else, but Sam can see how her forlorn face is longing for something… something that she misses so much… an unfulfilled desire… but she keeps holding back, as if she believes Sam is going to deny her wish…

"Do you…" Sam says, not knowing what exactly that gives her a clue what to do, "Do you want me to hug you…?"

The arms that come crashing around her torso directly give her the answer.

* * *

They end up leaning against the wall while the sun begins to fall below the horizon, chatting about anything that comes up in their minds. Lara briefly tells Sam about her life before going to Yamatai, her interests in archaeology, archery, and mountaineering, about her experiences on the Endurance, and about her missing parents. Sam can't stop apologizing to her, but Lara seems to find her awkwardness endearing; she even rests her head on Sam's shoulder again, flustering Sam even more.

"It's okay… I still have nightmares sometimes… but otherwise I don't have any problems," Lara states.

Sam has a feeling she's lying, but she has no intention to question her further.

"You're a filmmaker, aren't you?" Lara asks as she hugs her knees, which seems to be her favorite sitting position, "Do you only produce documentaries?"

"I like making them," she replies, "And they give me an excuse to travel around the world."

"Do you like adventure?"

Sam notices how Lara's tone of voice lifts up slightly.

"I do. It makes me feel alive somehow," Sam says, remembering how the breeze which gently blows on her face along her trip always gives her that warm, pleasant feeling no matter where she's traveling to.

"…If we ever get off this island, will you go on an adventure with me?"

Lara said it so fast that Sam almost didn't catch it.

"…Fine, I'll take you on that offer," she giggles, "But hopefully a safer destination this time."

"I…don't know about that," Lara says, looking at the ceiling.

Sam raises her little finger in front of Lara's face and Lara gives her a curious look.

"Do East Asian archeologists know about _yubikiri_? We call it pinky swear in America," Sam says, "We're going on an adventure together, it's a promise."

Sam is about to say that it might be too childish, but Lara beams at her and entwines her little finger with Sam's.

"I promise," she says, and Sam can hear her resolve hardening in her voice, "I promise, Sam."


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Thanks to Little Donkey for the beta~

It's probably a bit late but first let me get something off my chest:

Tomb Raider Comic #3.

TOMB RAIDER COMIC #3.

_**TOMB. RAIDER. COMIC.**__** #3.**_*OBLIGATORY KEYBOARD SMASH* *DANCES IN HAPPINESS*

* * *

**Chapter 6**

Sam wakes up to a spooky, harmonious chant that gives her the sensation of something crawling under her skin. It sounds so unusually loud that there has to be at least one thousand women in front of her, and when she opens her eyes she finds out that it is true. In front of her lies a majestic courtyard that is lined by trees crowned with clusters of purple and white flowers, the morning dew on their petals sparkling like jewels under the early sunlight. The women are of varying ages and they all wear identical red and white robes that remind Sam of traditional Japanese shrine maidens. Sam becomes aware that she is wearing a long robe with similar colors herself, pearly white with a vivid shade of red embroidered with gold.

The youngest of the women are doubling up on some small scrolls while nervously chanting along. Sam's eyes fall on one of them. Even from afar her beauty is truly recognizable; the silky hair that falls on her face is unlike any other, and the queasiness on her face only makes her prettier. She reminds Sam a little of herself.

Then without warning and completely out of the blue, Sam hears a deep, dark voice that is not her own from the back of her mind.

A voice that is definitely not hers, but resembles her own very much.

_I want her._

She jerks in surprise and almost hits her head on the tall chair she's sitting. Only it's not a chair she's sitting on, but a throne.

Sam is confused beyond words.

'Where… am I…? What is this…? What the hell is going on…?'

"Is there something wrong, My Queen?"

The concerned man beside her is wearing a full suit of armor and is speaking to her in some kind of ancient Japanese. It terrifies Sam even more when she realizes that she could understand every word that he said.

"No, um…" she blurts out in the same language, which she has never learned in her whole life.

"Are you thinking about your successor…?" he asks respectfully, "It might be a little too early… but it's hard not to think about it when all the Daughters of the Sun are lining up in front of you like this. Your speeches find an echo in their hearts and they all wish to be your successor. Even the new Priestesses are trying their hardest to avoid dropping behind."

"Successor…?" Sam repeats, "What, what the…"

However, the unknown voice is ringing adamantly in her ears.

_I have found someone. I will raise her, nurture her to become my successor._

"I'm guessing you have had your eyes on someone," the man says again.

_Her name is Hoshi, being useful to me is her only purpose in life and she is worthy to become my next vessel._

"Vessel?" Sam exclaims, her head pulsing more painfully the more that voice speaks, "Who…who are you? Why are you inside my head? ?"

The fact that the mysterious voice sounds exactly like her own scares her even more.

_It is the greatest of honors beyond anything that you will ever hope to achieve._

Sam doesn't know who the voice is speaking to anymore.

_You're _perfect _as my next vessel._

* * *

The sudden jolt of shock that wakes her up for real is so jarring that she finds herself sitting upright in a cold sweat, furiously gasping for breath while her heart is thumping horrendously. She thought she was still in her nightmare until she feels Lara's breath upon her hand. She listens to the chirps of the birds and the rustles of leaves from outside before finally convincing herself that she is not dreaming.

But somebody else is.

Sam hears a moan and a grunt from the woman beside her, and she immediately looks at her in alarm.

Lara is lying on her side and she's sweating as much as Sam is, her breathing is quickening and her legs won't stop threshing around. She's making a lot of incomprehensible sounds, while her fingers are desperately grasping on the mat, as if she's looking for something.

Sam quickly takes hold of one of Lara's hands.

"Lara…?" she calls, but the only response she gets is Lara tightly clutching onto Sam's fingers as if her life depends on it. Her movements are getting worse and she has a fearful frown on her face.

Sam begins to panic. "Lara, wake up," she says, shaking Lara's shoulder, but Lara's fingers are constricting hers so much that she flinches in pain.

"Lara, stop it, please!" she yelps, but Lara's other hand has found Sam's shirt and seizes it blindly. She is so strong, and Sam barely manages to stop herself from toppling over Lara's body.

Lara continues to unconsciously pull Sam toward her, her body shakily curling up like an infant and her mumbles becoming more and more audible. Her grapple is so rough that Sam feels that the injuries that this very same person has treated are being ripped open under her gauze. Lara looks as if she's going through something horrid in her dream, and it reminds Sam of how Lara said that she has nightmares sometimes about the bloodshed she experienced on the island.

When Sam sees the grievous state that she's in, it occurs to her what she has to do, no, what she _wants _to do.

She stops struggling and slips her free arm around Lara, drawing her close to her as she lies down in front of her.

"Ssh…ssh…" Sam whispers, patting her back, "I'm here…"

It doesn't have any effect at first, but Sam is patient.

"You're safe now…" she continues, "It's okay…it's okay…"

She keeps giving her assuring words and soothing rubs until Lara's grip on her hand finally loosens.

After a few minutes, Sam hears her drowsy voice.

"…You're warm…"

"And you're awake," Sam responds cheekily.

Lara sighs in content. "It was a pleasant dream."

"Definitely didn't look like it," Sam remarks.

"It got pleasant by the end of it," she adds, pulling her head back a little so she can look at Sam.

"I don't know how I'm supposed to feel about that," Sam replies, her face flushes when she finds Lara observing her again.

'At least her eyes are on my face, and not below it,' Sam thinks, almost smacking herself for being a little disappointed, 'But does she always need to stare at my face like that…?'

Sam is feeling so self-conscious. Is it because Lara's an archaeologist…? Sam can sense her contemplating every feature of her face, like she's a piece of exceptional antiquity. Then she just has to say something to put Sam's fantasies into a halt.

"I wonder how much Queen Himiko looks like you."

Oh, right, for Lara she _is_ a piece of exceptional antiquity.

"How many hearts have you broken by accident…?" Sam mutters.

"I beg your pardon…?"

"Nothing, oh hey you have a cute scar on your nose."

Sam places her finger on that certain spot to distract Lara, but right at that moment the door slides open and reveals an extremely astonished Brennan, who has obviously misunderstood what he sees.

"Fuck! Did you just have se—"

"Oh, hey, Brennan, good morning! ! What's for breakfast? ?" Sam greets at the top of her voice.

Sam's unintentional look of denial just makes it even worse. "Did you just do it? !"

"You got it so, so terribly wrong that you can't get even further away from the truth if you try," Sam says in a low voice, putting her face in her palm.

"Then why are you both covered in sweat? !"

"Oh, just the usual," Lara finally speaks, just as Sam is preparing herself to escape the wrath of Brennan, and probably a hundred other guys once they find out, "We can talk later. Just leave us for now."

Brennan's mouth parts. He's clearly having an internal fight about whether he should draw Sam aside to threaten her with a healthy dose of beatings, or to do what Lara says and leave them alone. In the end he exits the room in a hesitant manner, thudding his feet along the way.

After they can't hear his footsteps anymore, Sam relaxes and says, "'The usual'…?"

Lara is suddenly busily studying the window.

"This has happened before? Brennan finding you covered in sweat and lying in your room?" Sam says, demanding an explanation.

"Okay, it might happen a bit more often than I remember," Lara admits at the drop of a hat.

Sam opens her mouth, but closes it again without a word. Lara frequently has nightmares in this room, alone, without anyone to console her every time she is scared awake.

"I'm used to this, okay?" Lara brushes it off. "…Did I hurt you?"

Sam shakes her head. It really isn't anything major, and her broken finger was untouched by Lara's grip.

"Do you always sleep alone…?" Sam questions her.

"Those guys don't even _dare_ touch me so…" Lara gives an apathetic shrug, but there is a slight hint of unhappiness in her voice. "The last time I slept next to someone, I almost buried my axe in his forehead because he inadvertently came in contact with my shoulder."

Sam's stomach churns unpleasantly. "Oh…so that's why you stashed your weapons there," Sam says, taking a brief look at the menacing pile at the farthest corner of the room.

"…I can still choke you to death… you shouldn't have hugged me like that," Lara tells her gloomily, her fingers fidgeting on her necklace.

"I can't just keep my distance away from you and watch you being tormented by your dream," Sam insists, "You make it sound like I should regret what I did. Well, don't expect me to do it. I don't regret it. At all."

"You could've…" Lara begins, but her voice trails off and it seems that she decides to change the subject, "…Why are you so reckless?"

Sam reaches for Lara's hand again. "I trust you," she states, her voice louder than she intends it to be, "So when can you start putting a little bit of faith in my ability to…you know, trust?"

Sam wonders if Lara thinks she's joking or teasing her.

"I don't even know if I trust myself…" came the whisper. Sam almost didn't hear it.

"Well, you trust yourself enough to protect me," Sam gives Lara's hand a gentle squeeze, "At least that's a start."

* * *

The best way to describe breakfast with hundreds of scavengers in their shanty town is, as soon as Sam endures it for the first time, she concludes that it might be better being in prison. Not even Lara has a special privilege during this period, and Sam witnesses a war unfold in front of her while the guys start engaging in a hungry struggle to get their begrimed hands on the tasty limited cooked food.

"All of them can look for food themselves, but they just won't stop doing this," Lara complains, "It's like now they _worship_ the small number of them who can actually cook instead of Himiko."

"We can never get through this crowd," Sam states after bumping her head to someone's sweaty back for the twentieth time.

Lara smothers a laugh. "It's okay, come here," she pulls Sam away from the droves of empty-bellied men. A rosy blush spreads across Sam's cheeks; Lara's fingers so naturally entwine with hers like they had been holding hands since forever, and Lara's sudden gesture sends a pleasurable tingling sensation through her whole body.

"We can look for food the right way," she says, oblivious to Sam's flustered state.

She leads Sam to a shed near the outskirts of the shanty town, where they keep some of their less commonly used equipments and ammunitions. Lara rummages through the heaps of tools with an excited smile on her face that makes Sam's gaze linger on her mouth a second too long. She emerges soon after with a spool of wire, a pocket knife, and a handful of arrows.

"Um…" Sam's eyes fall on the quiver full of arrows on Lara's back, "Why do you need more arrows…?"

"Oh, I can use the arrows in my quiver, but they won't work as well as these," she explains, still flashing that giddy smile, "We're lucky to salvage these from some wrecks, I've been wanting to use these arrows again."

Sam swoons internally. _Oh, God, that adorable look on her face when she's talking about the stuff that she likes._

"So how are these arrows different from the others? And what are we going to do with them?" Sam asks, compelling her voice to sound natural.

"These are made out of fiberglass. They are much sturdier and heavier, probably the heaviest kind of arrows I ever shot," Lara pulls out her regular arrow as a comparison and shows it to Sam.

Sam can sense how Lara enjoys that challenge.

"They're great for fishing," Lara adds.

"Fishing…?" Sam repeats. She doesn't like the sound of that.

"Yes, you won't be able to use these arrows without proper training, so I'm going to teach you how to use a bow with a regular arrow, and also another way to catch a fish by yourself," Lara says, holding the spool of wire in front of Sam, "Don't look at me like that. I've told you that in this island, it's every man for himself. You have to learn how to survive."

Sam's mind is still filled with worry by the time they arrive at a river bank. The tranquil stream of water is visibly clear albeit a bit muddy, and when Sam casts a brief glance upstream she finds more wrecks than she expects to see, most of them wooden and unnervingly sharp.

"Thank God for the calm waters…" Sam shudders.

"Yes, you won't want to go further upstream," Lara remarks, looking at the same direction as Sam, "They call it The Great Falls. The current up there is so strong it is perfect for advanced rafting, if only those rapids don't have even more wrecks and metal poles."

"How did you know this? Don't tell me you've actually navigated those rapids with a raft," Sam says, half jestingly.

"Oh, good guess, that's exactly what happened," Lara replies while tying a wire on one of her new arrows, "But minus the raft."

* * *

They spend the whole morning trying to catch as many fish as they can.

Lara shows Sam how to catch a fish without fishing gear. They look for a sharp twig and fashion it into a hook, then secure it with a wire and put on some cattail leaves on it as bait. Sam enjoys this more than she previously thought, since there are plenty of fish and the late morning weather is great for fishing. It gets even better after she replaces the bait with small fish.

In addition, she can also admire Lara's prodigious bowfishing skills while waiting.

She only needs a while to adjust herself to the optical distortion of the water, and she sure puts those heavy arrows into good use. Nothing escapes her eagle eye. She doesn't hesitate to get into the shallow waters and struggle with the arrows while calculating stuff Sam does not understand. Sam always hopes Lara misses, though, because every time she does, she gives Sam a sideway glance and when she finds out Sam's watching her, that expression of embarrassment mixed with disappointment and frustration on her face is too cute to ignore.

After a couple of fish, they set up a fire and choose two of their biggest catch to eat.

Lara hands her pocket knife to Sam. She seems to prefer using her arrow to cut almost anything.

"There's no special reason," Lara replies when Sam asks her about it, "It's just um…becoming a habit..."

"Do you cut your food with your arrows all the time?" Sam asks again.

"It's not like I had access to knives when I first came here, and my arrows work just fine," Lara tells her, picking up one of their fish, "Here, let me show you. Put a firm grip on the fish…"

Lara inserts the tip of her arrow into the underside of the fish. "…then cut the belly like this…" She draws her arrow from near the tail toward the head, making Sam wince a little.

"Did you learn this yourself?" Sam asks, trying to distract her mind from how Lara effortlessly guts the fish.

"No, uh…I was taught by a…friend," Lara says, the grim look returning to her eyes, "A friend I failed to save…"

_"I don't even trust myself."_

She's probably still blaming herself for that, Sam notices.

"And that is your fault somehow…?" Sam mutters.

"You just don't understand," Lara says sternly, "I brought them here. If only I weren't such a plonker then none of them would have died. I was so weak that I couldn't save them. Then all these people suddenly decided to follow me because they think I'm reliable. When I clearly couldn't even save any of my friends' lives. And here I am feeling sorry for myself. Reliable, my arse!"

Lara buries her head between her knees. Sam looks at Lara and then at the knife in her hand, wondering if she should pocket it away safely.

"I'm sorry that I…burst out like this all of a sudden…" Lara adds with a muffled voice, "…I couldn't really talk like this with anyone before… I'm scared… I'm too scared to show any weakness. I don't want them to start killing each other. And… do you know that they ever tried to kill me…? Before I joined Ryland… every single one of them tried to kill me…"

_"These people here are my family."_

Those words that were said to Sam in such a formal manner hid the true feelings of this frightened young woman. There is probably some truth in it; Sam could see how she interacted with and worried over her subordinates like a loving leader. However, she could also see the look of reverence and wonder in her followers' eyes. They're afraid of her, they believe in her. Her only difference from Queen Himiko is probably that they don't worship her.

That situation hardly allows her to show any weakness.

The lone leader. The sole survivor. The feared outcast with her unshakeable resoluteness as a mask.

"…And you can open up with me, whom you just met two days ago?" Sam asks her, holding her knife, "What if I try to kill you too, Lara…?"

She only said that without thinking. The sorrowful look on Lara's face when she raises her head completely breaks her heart.

"I honestly don't know what I'd do," Lara says with a forced smile, "I just know that so many have died in my hands, but… I don't want you to be one of them. I just don't."

* * *

A/N: And that's all for chapter 6. Some trivia for those who don't know yet:

- Sam and Himiko have the same VA and therefore the same voice, which is why I make it that way in this fic.

- The Great Falls is the official name of the rapids that we all know and love.

Please R&R~!


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